Fire and Flowers
by Persephone Swan
Summary: Persephone's journey to accept Hades as a husband. . .Will be continued later. . .probably will contain lemons.


He ran his long fingers through his curly black hair with a sigh. He knew he was being selfish but he wanted her so badly that he couldn't care about it too much. He grinned slightly at the deal he had just made; he would have her for all of Autumn and Winter before he had to return her. Sure he would have to mourn the loss of her throughout Spring and Summer but it was a small price to pay.

He loved her, he thought, in his own strange way. Yes, he lusted after her but there was definitely something more to it. When she was with him his prison, for that was how he saw it, was more bearable and he could breathe easier in his hot hell; she was a breath of fresh air.

He stretched his long legs out in front of him, leaning back and relaxing into his throne of bones. He closed his eyes imagining her lithe form, almost smelling her floral scent.

Sure enough, when he did open his eyes there she stood before him, her aquamarine eyes flitting over him as he smiled carefully at her.

Her form was swathed in a dress of a blushing pink colour that looked beautiful against her pale skin. Her golden hair trailed down her back in soft curls intertwined with brightly coloured flowers that were slightly wilting in the heat.

He grinned at her, flashing his white teeth which contrasted with his eyes that smouldered like hot coals. Her gaze quickly lowered to the floor, her cheeks stained crimson.

He was unable to contain his grin as he stood and stretched out his long limbs. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black leather pants that made his white skin appear even paler. He chuckled lowly as her eyes took in the muscles in his chest and stomach and her cheeks flushed again as her eyes snapped back to the floor.

He walked closer to her, his bare feet silent on the stone floor. She flinched away from him as he raised his hand to stroke her red cheeks.

"Do not fear me, Persephone," his deep voice rumbled, "I will not hurt you."

Her eyes snapped to his.

"You have already hurt me, my lord. You have taken me from my mother."

"For this I am sorry," he lied easily, "but in time you will grow to like it here. I am not a cruel man, Persephone," she snorted cutting him off and he grabbed her arms in his big hands and tugged her closer until their noses were touching.

"I will not be cruel to you, however you must understand that I have a short temper and when you do not cooperate with me you put yourself in danger," he whispered quietly. He rubbed his nose gently against hers as his eyes softened, "Now let us talk of this no longer, it displeases me and I wish for there to be only pleasure in our relationship." He purred the last words, his lips brushing hers gently. He leant in further pushing his mouth to hers carefully, loving the coolness of her skin against the heat of his.

She pulled away gently, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Please, Hades. Do not," she whispered. He sighed quietly and released her from his grasp.

"You may go to your room, Persephone. You must be tired and I do not wish for you to be unhappy."

No sooner had he said the words than she fled the room quickly, her floral scent the only evidence she had been there at all.

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><p>Persephone burst through the doors of her room, the tears she had been holding in spilling down her cheeks. She flopped onto the bed ungracefully. It was a great big thing, built out of wrought black iron, made up of four posts with a canopy above that was covered in brightly coloured flowers that did not seem able to die. It made her chest ache in a peculiar way when she looked at those flowers. The gesture he had made by putting them there was almost...sweet she supposed. But that went against everything she already knew about him. She had expected him to be cold, cruel and unforgiving, however so far, although he had been harsh with her, she had seen gentleness in him that she had not anticipated. And when he had kissed her she had felt it all the way down to her toes. His touch made her skin tingle pleasantly and this was so confusing that she could not stop the tears that sprang in her eyes. And so she lay on her beautiful bed and wept in her confusion, until a timid knock on the door interrupted her.<p>

"Come in," she said wiping under her eyes to try and prevent more tears escaping.

* * *

><p>He opened the door apprehensively as he had heard her sobbing from the corridor. He did not wish for her to cry but did not know what he could do to stop it. So he had brought her tea and sweets in the hope that it would cheer her up.<p>

She sat up quickly when he entered carrying a tray full to the brim with treats that almost made her smile. He saw the twitch of her lips and smiled, "I had hoped that this would cheer you up, I do not want you to be sad. Are you hungry?"

"A little," she answered wiping the tear tracks from her face.

"Here," he placed the tray down in front of her, "Is it ok if I sit down?" She nodded shyly and he perched slowly on the edge of the bed.

He watched her carefully as she picked at the sweet treats he had laid out for her and smiled as she took small sips of her tea. She shivered and did not flinch away from him this time as he trailed his fingers over her cheeks. He stroked her skin gently and brushed his fingers across her plump lips. She sighed at the heat they produced and leaned her face into the palm of his hand. She blinked slowly at him, watching as his eyes drank in the sight of her, like she was his saviour, the only thing in the world he cared for. Her bottom lip trembled as his eyes met hers, black meeting clear blue, and he leaned in slowly. He held her gaze until the last possible second, when his mouth met hers. He kissed her slowly, gently, trying not to scare her with the intense feelings that coursed through him when their skin touched. He smiled against her lips when she didn't pull away, and pushed his lips more firmly into hers. His hands tangled in her hair crushing the flowers that rested there. She gasped against his mouth when he ran his teeth carefully over her bottom lip, nipping gently before soothing with the tip of his tongue. He pulled away then, not wanting to overwhelm her and chastely kissed her once more before releasing her.

"I am hoping that one day you may consent to be my wife, Persephone. And so I feel that it is only right that I warn you I will be kissing you an awful lot during our time together." He grinned at her roguishly and winked, wishing to make her smile.

She frowned instead. The prospect of marriage was not appealing to her but strangely she didn't mind the kissing. The feeling of his lips on hers was not unpleasant, quite the contrary and she was coming to like it.

She sighed, "I cannot deny that the notion of marriage, to anyone, makes me uneasy. However for some reason, that I cannot fathom, I am happy to allow you to kiss me," She blushed as his grin widened.

"Good. I'm glad that you are not opposed to such a thing," he winked again, "I will leave you now. Get some sleep and we will spend some time together when you wake."

"But...you are not sleeping here?" she asked confused, "With me I mean? Not that I want you to but..." she trailed off, embarrassed. He stood slowly, stroking her cheeks once more before going to the door.

"Not tonight. But I hope soon, that maybe you will want me in your bed," he smiled to himself, "And not just for sleeping either." He left the room then, not seeing the quirk of her lips before she suppressed the surprised smile.

* * *

><p>So, this is just something I thought up and wrote when I was at work. I was majorly bored so this was just something I was doing to pass the time. And yes as ever I am planning to continue it but can't guarantee exactly when.<p>

Hope you like it.


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